Off-highway Vehicle Regulations Clarified

Amendments to off-highway vehicle (OHV) regulations help clarify where off-highway vehicle operators can drive, better define how landowners can grant permission for use of their property and will exempt some experienced riders from safety training courses.

"We are continually working to improve how Nova Scotia governs its off-highway vehicles," Natural Resources Minister David Morse said today, March 21.

"We have listened to the many operators who have expressed concern about not being able to use traditional paths on Crown logging roads, for example, and to landowners who wanted simpler ways of granting permission for OHVs to use their land. The amendments we are making continue our ongoing effort to regulate off-highway vehicles in a way that helps promote their safe and responsible use."

The revised regulations, which take effect immediately, allow off-highway vehicles to use "established trails," that were traditionally used by OHVs before April 1, 2006, unless permission by the landowner has been withdrawn or the route falls within restricted zones such as wilderness areas or beach dunes, for example. The changes also allow the use of unmaintained, public k-class roads and of logging roads on Crown land, again unless the roads are within areas prohibited under the Off-highway Vehicle Act.

The regulations also expand the definition of "written permission" to allow landowners or occupiers to sign one document granting general permission to use their property.

The revised regulations also change the training requirements for some experienced off-highway vehicle operators. Safety training courses will no longer be required for a person (or his/her common-law/ married spouse or domestic partner) who:

• purchased an off-highway vehicle prior to April 1, 2006, and
• registered an off-highway vehicle on or before Sept. 30, 2007, and
• has a current driver's licence.

The exemption would be lifted and the person would then have to complete safety training if his or her driver's licence is suspended or revoked, or the person is convicted of an offence under the Off-highway Vehicle Act.

The revised regulations can be viewed on the website at www.gov.ns.ca/natr .